Jeff Heggie Daily Success Strategies
344: It's Just a Roadblock with Amberley Snyder
https://jeffheggie.com/ConfidentAthlete
https://mindset.jeffheggie.com/
Amberley Snyder
WALK RIDE RODEO - Watch it on Netflix
On January 10th, 2010 Amberley was on her way to the Denver Stock Show and Rodeo. As she was passing through Sinclair, WY she took a look down at her map. After only seconds she looked up and realized she had faded into the other lane, headed towards a metal beam. In an effort to get back in her lane, Amberley overcorrected. Her truck slid off the road and rolled and she was ejected from the vehicle. She was slammed into a fence post that broke her back and immediately she lost feeling in her legs.
After five hours of emergency surgery the doctor’s prognosis was she would never regain use or feeling below her waist. He told her if she had worn her seatbelt, she would still have use of her legs. The one mistake she made that day changed her life forever, but it has not defeated her competitive spirit. The top priority for Amberley was not even to walk, but to ride her horses again. Remarkably after only 4 months after the accident, she was back on her horse.
Through all the challenges and adversity Amberley has had to face, it hasn’t stopped her from achieving any of her goals. In May of 2015 Amberley graduated college with a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Education. In 2018, she earned her Master’s Degree in School Counseling from Utah State University. Amberley’s hard work ethic hasn’t wavered, and one could argue has even gotten stronger. After the accident Amberley realized she had a unique opportunity to reach out and inspire people with her unconventional situation. Her first step to that was her “Wheel Chair Wednesday’s video segments on social media. She would perform everyday tasks that have now become more challenging, but not impossible, after her accident. These range from how she gets on her horse to how she fills her truck up with fuel and her short videos have become a popular fan favorite on social media resulting in nearly 200K fans on Facebook.
Amberley now is inspiring thousands across America by telling her inspirational story and competing in rodeos across the western United States. She has let the challenges she faces refine her, not define her.
She was voted the fan exemption contestant at the world’s richest one day rodeo, comparable to the Super Bowl, RFD-TV’s The American. She competed with the best in the industry and received a standing ovation from over 40,000 fans in AT&T Stadium and won over the hearts of America. Amberley has turned her tragedy into triumph and is inspiring all of America to Get Back on the Horse.
